Carlisle Regional Medical Center, which received the bashing, and Holy Spirit Hospital are among 405 U.S. hospitals recognized by the Joint Commission, a national organization that accredits hospitals.

They are among the top 14 percent of Joint Commission-accredited hospitals in terms of attaining “an exemplary level of performance in certain key quality measures,” including treating heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia patients.

Holy Spirit and Carlisle Regional are among 20 Pennsylvania hospitals to receive the distinction, and they’re the only two from the Harrisburg region.

The commission said it is “shining a light on the top-performing hospitals that have achieved excellence on a number of vital measures of quality of care.”

The honor reflects hospitals’ performance during 2010 and is based on data, but not on-site inspections, a Holy Spirit spokeswoman said.

Carlisle Regional recently fended off a state Health Department survey that said two patient deaths might have been related to inadequate staffing and related problems at the South Middleton Twp.-based hospital.

Carlisle Regional disputed the findings, and after further review, the Health Department last week admitted there were no shortcomings in the care received by the two patients.

In fact, Carlisle Regional pointed out factual errors in the survey, including dates and times, and successfully argued that numerous items cited in the survey, including statements attributed to hospital employees, were presented out of context.

An effort to discuss the department’s errors with Michael Wolf, the acting deputy secretary for quality assurance for the Health Department, was unsuccessful Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Carlisle Regional has sent a letter to local residents citing the Health Department’s reversal on the deaths and also suggesting the situation was “inaccurately reported in local media.”

Asked to state what has been reported inaccurately, a Carlisle Regional spokeswoman said in an email that the hospital had no comment.

The reference to inaccurate reporting appears to be based on a statement Wolf made in his letter to Carlisle Regional informing the hospital that relating the deaths to staffing appears “unfounded.”

However, Health Department spokeswoman Christine Cronkright said Wednesday that the department knows of no factual inaccuracies in the coverage and is not blaming the situation on the media.

Cronkright further said the department is “working very actively” to ensure Carlisle Regional carries out a plan of correction for shortcomings cited in the survey that the hospital has acknowledged. And she said, “This is still very much an ongoing investigation.”

Carlisle Regional acknowledged it was understaffed during a period in early summer but said it was the result of an unexpected surge in volume.

According to its plan of correction, Carlisle has hired, or is in the process of hiring, about a dozen employees, including seven registered nurses, and also is creating a six-member pool of floating nurses.

In an emailed release regarding the Joint Commission honor, Carlisle Regional CEO John Kristel said, “We understand what matters most to patients at Carlisle Regional Medical Center — safe, effective care. That’s why Carlisle Regional Medical Center has made a commitment to accreditation and to positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes. Carlisle Regional Medical Center is proud to be named to the list of The Joint Commission’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures.”

Dr. Joseph Torchia, Holy Spirit’s chief medical officer, also called attention to the honor in a news release.

“Quality care will always be the heart and soul of our mission at Holy Spirit. The patients who trust us with their very lives deserve nothing less,” he said.

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